Discovery that cells have plasma membrane portals called porosomes that govern secretion.

Abstract

A large number of products are synthesized and packaged in membrane vesicles to be secreted from cells to carry out essential physiological functions such as nerve transmission, digestion and immune response. How do cells secrete with great precision a portion of the vesicle contents?These questions have been answered through the work of Dr. Bhanu P. Jena, a cell physiologist and chemist at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit Already in the mid 1990s he discovered that pancreatic acinar cells possess secretory portals (porosomes) at the cell plasma membrane that govern the transport and secretion of digestive enzymes. During the next twenty-five years, Jena characterized in great detail the molecular mechanisms underlying this secretory process. He also showed that similar "secretory portals", or "porosomes", are present in all cell types including endocrine cells secreting hormones and brain neurons secreting neurotransmitters.The principles discovered and described by Bhanu P. Jena turned out to be universal, operating similarly in all animal cells. A number of human hereditary diseases are caused by mutations in some of the nearly 30 proteins composing the porosome complex. Jena's discovery of the porosome, in addition to providing a deep understanding of cell secretion, has also contributed to the establishment of a drug development platform (https://www.porosome.com) for the treatment of a wide range of diseases. Among the therapeutic application is porosome reconstitution in stem cell derived beta cells, for the treatment of Type 1 diabetes and holds great promise for the cure of cystic fibrosis.